Disposable tent



Sept. 2; 1969 I J. B. MGQUAID 3,464,430

DISPOSABLE TENT Filed Aug. 10, 1967 INVENTOR.

' JOHN B. MQUfl/D A TTORNE Y 3,464,430 DISPQSABLE TENT John B. McQuaid,12018 W. New Mexico Ave., Denver, Colo. 80228 Filed Aug. 10, 1967, Ser.No. 659,789

Int. Cl. A455 1/00 U.S. Ci. 135-1 8 Claims ABSTRACT F THE DISCLOSURE Adisposable tent formed of tubular stock has one gusset-tucked in endwhich is sealed, and the other end is open and provided with a drawstring for closing the same. The tent is staked tothe ground across lessthan the diameter of the tube at the open end, and, also, at the sealedend providing a ground cloth portion and a tent portion. A single linefastened to the top of the tube adjacent the open end holds the stakedtent in erected position. In one form, the tent is made of light weightplastic film in tubular form.

An important object of the invention is to provide a simply constructed,light weight tent which may be erected for use by a single line.

A further object of the invention is to provide a disposable, lightweight tent made of plastic film in tubular form.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a tent of simpleconstruction formed of tubular stock having one sealed end and one openend and a very simple means for erecting the tent.

These and other objects and advantages of the invention may be readilyascertained by referring to the following description and appendedillustrations in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of tubular stock used for the constructionof the tent according to the invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of one form of tent made according to theinvention, illustrating the erected position of the tent;

FIG. 3 is a partial perspective view of the open end of a tentillustrating one means of closure for the tent;

FIG. 4 is a partial perspective view of the open end of a tent accordingto the invention showing a modified means of closure for the tent; and

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a modified form of the tent in erectedposition ready for use by an occupant.

In general, the invention provides a tent which is composed essentiallyof tubular sheet stock, having one end sealed shut and the other endopen but closable when desired. The tent is staked to the ground alongthe sealed end and adjacent the open end at less than the diameterthereby forming a floor or ground cloth for the tent. The tent isarranged to be erected by a single line attached to a point near theopen end and extended upwardly. The tubular stock may be made of plasticfilm or sheeting in tubular form, and such plastics as polyvinylchloride and its copolymers, vinylidene chloride-vinyl chloridecopolymers, regenerated cellulose, cellulose derivators, polyvinylalcohol, polystyrene, nylon, polyethylene, rubber hydrochloride(Pliofilm) etc. may be used for tents of very light weight and which maybe inexpensive enough for disposal after one or several uses. Tubularstock of fabric which may be plain or impregnated with plastics, rubber,or similar waterproofing material may, likewise, be used for the tentmaterial. Also, the fabric may be vegetable fibers, mineral fibers orplastic fibers. The essence being that the material is tubular stock,and the term, tubular stock includes all such material. The tents may bemade in a variety of sizes, and the two major dimensions to bedetermined are the diameter of the tube Patented Sept. 2, 1969 ice stockand length thereof. Small, one-man tents may be made of tubular stock of6 to 8 feet diameter, and larger tents may be made of tubular stock of10, 12, 14 or more feet. The length may be from 8 to 12 feet or moredepending upon the desires of the users. The larger tents may be anylength above about 10 feet or more.

In the illustrations, a tubular stock as shown in FIG. 1 comprises atube 10 having an open end 12 at one end and an open end 14 at theopposite end. As pointed out above the stock may be plastic, fabric, orcombinations thereof of the desired size. A tent is made of the tubularstock by tucking in the sides of the end, for example, forming gussets16 and 18 of end 14 and sealing the end closed by means of a seal 20.Where fabric is used the end is sewn together, and where plastic is usedthe end may be heat sealed closed or otherwise sealed shut as by anadhesive or the like. In the form illustrated in FIG. 2, a pair of metalgrommets 22 and 24 are secured in the sealed end 20 for staking the tentto the ground. Adjacent the opposite end a second pair of grommets 26and 23 are secured in the side of the material which is folded over, andthe distance between the grommets 26 and 28 is considerably less thandiameter of the material. Thus, when the tent is staked to the ground bymeans of stakes or the like in the grommets there is provided a floor30, which is less width than the diameter of the tube. In the formillustrated, the tent may be provided with metal grommets which arefastened in the material. Particularly with plastic material, however,reinforcing members may be sealed to the material at the point where ahole is to be provided, thus forming a plastic grommet for staking thetent to the ground. For holding the tent in erect position a tab 32 issealed to the tube at approximately the same position from the end ofthe tent as grommets 26 and 28 but is midway on the material between thetwo grommets. The tab 32 is provided with a grommet 34 for theattachment of a line. The tab may be sewn on fabric, and sealed onplastic by such conventional means as heat sealing, adhesives or thelike. The placement of the grommets 26 and 28 and the tab 32 leaves aloose end 36 of the tent which may be pulled together closing the same.One form of closing is by means of a draw string 38, FIG. 4, which isplaced inside a tube or hem 40 formed at the edge of the material byfolding the same back and sealing it along a seal line 42. The grommets26 and 28 and the tab 32 should be placed a suflicient distance from theedge 12 of the tent so that it may be drawn together for tightly closingthe tent opening. A different form of closure for tent opening is shownin FIG. 3, where a tent 50 having a floor 52 is provided with a seriesof grommets 54 adjacent the edge 56 of the opening of the tent 50. Aline 58 laced through the grommets provides means for forming a drawstring for closing the end of the tent. Obviously, other types ofclosures may be used such as snaps, buttons or the like.

As illustrated in FIG. 5, a tent 60 is easily erected by means of asingle line 69, which is secured to the open end of the tent. This linemay be secured to an elevated structure or by means of an angle 72 toanother line 62 which is attached to a tree 65 at one end and to a stakeat the other end. The tent 60 is made of a light weight plastic film andthe end 64 is gusseted and sealed. The tent is staked to the ground bythe stakes 67 which are merely driven into the material into the groundat four positions, as above-mentioned, to hold the tent down and form afloor 68 in the tent 60. To erect the tent a line 69 is passed through apair of holes 70 and 71, at approximately the same position as the tab32 of the tent of FIG. 2, spaced back from the end 63 of the tent 60.The line 69 is secured to the rope clamp 70 which is mounted on the line62. The clamp 70 is very simply an apertured angle with the line 62passing through one opening and the line 69 secured to the otheropening. The angle may then be moved u and down the line 62 to put thedesired taughtness on the line 69. For simple erection, a longer linethan 69 could be connected to the holes 70 and 71 and fastened to a poleor tree or other high support thereby holding the tent in erectedposition. The double line, however, provides flexibility in the event ofwind, and prevents over straining the light weight plastic material ofthe tent.

A tent made of 9 foot tubular stock about 8 feet in length, and made of1 /2 mill Marlex, made by Phillips Petroleum, which is a rubberimpregnated polyethylene, or equivalent resin, weighs not more thanabout 6 ounces and may be readily folded into a package of about 4-inches by 5 inches and less than a half inch thick. Thus, the tent maybe disposable since the material is very inexpensive. The Marlex iswaterproof and provides good wind protection, thus it is ideal forhikers, hunters, fishermen and the like who may be caught from theirbase of operation and are required to spend the night in the elements.Even though such a light weight material is intended to be disposable itmay be used several times to provide shelter from wind and moisture, butits cheapness permits it to be discarded after one or a few uses. Byproviding plastic material which is essentially a vapor barrier the tentprovides a waterproof ground cloth, which is essential to keep the userwarm and dry in adverse weather conditions. Where the tent is made offabric, the bottom may be given an extra coat of plastic or the like tomake it waterproof, and such a tent may be reusable many times.

While the invention has been described in reference to particularembodiments, there is no intent to limit the spirit or the scope of theinvention to precise details so set forth.

I claim:

1. A tent comprising a main body of unbroken tubular material having oneclosed end and one open end, said closed end having the opposed sidestucked in as gussets and sealed in closed position, said open endincluding releasable means for closing the same for use, said releasablemeans being adapted to close said open end by reducing the effectivearea of said open end, means for staking said closed end to the ground,means for staking said tubular material to the ground at a distance fromsaid closed end and spaced from said open end, and said means forstaking said tubular material being spaced across said tubular materiala predetermined distance apart and in alignment with said closed end toform a generally rectangular floor for said tent and provide asubstantial portion of tubular material extending above said floorforming the covering tent portion, and means inclusive of a line securedto said tubular material at a point circumferentially aligned with saidmeans for staking said tubular material and spaced from said open endfor supporting said substantial portion of tubular material in anerected position in the absence of support means within the interior ofsaid tubular material.

2. A tent according to claim 1 in which said tubular material is aplastic film.

3. A tent according to claim 1 wherein said tubular material is afabric.

4. A tent according to claim 1 wherein said releasable means for closingopen end is a line in a hem at the open end of said tent.

5. A tent according to claim 1 wherein said means for staking saidclosed end includes a pair of spaced apart grommets.

6. A tent according to claim 5 wherein said grommets are metal securedin the seal closing said closed end.

7. A tent according to claim 5 wherein said grommets are a pair ofspaced apart plastic reinforced holes in said closed end.

8. A tent according to claim 1 wherein said means for supporting saidsubstantial portion is a pair of spaced apart holes and said line isthreaded through said holes at one end and secured in an elevatedposition at the other holding said tent erected.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,057,628 4/1913 Eberhardt -11,498,465 6/1924 Marshall 135-1 XR 2,567,697 9/1951 Craighead et al.135-1 2,792,844 5/1957 Clark 135 -1 3,162,920 12/1964 Durham 135-1 XRKENNETH DOWNEY, Primary Examiner

